Inside History Collection Magazine

2 August 2023

The plague struck Europe In October 1347, 12 Italian merchant ships docked at Messina in Sicily. It soon became clear that something was terribly wrong with the crew on board. Just by talking to them, Messina’s citizens were infected with a deadly disease. The victims developed large boils and coughed up blood, leaving doctors and priests powerless. The ships were ordered to leave – but it was too late. The disease had come ashore, people were on the run and the plague spread across Europe. Villages, towns and monasteries were left empty, and in three years more than a third of the European population died. It led to a shifting balance of power as a new society emerged from the ruins.